Final Reckoning: The Fate of Bester (Babylon 5: Saga of Psi Corps, #3) by Greg Keyes

Final Reckoning: The Fate of Bester (Babylon 5: Saga of Psi Corps, #3) Reviews

• 
  Andrew

  This is the third and final book of the Psi Corps trilogy and really concludes the story of Bester (no I am not giving anything away as the title sort of does that way before I did). Anyway this is the last in the series and to be honest one I came to late in the day.
  
  Let me explain while Babylon 5 was airing I was a huge fan, yes the effects are dated and the fact that the show was on a budget never distracted what was going on. The show now has suffered from unsympathetic editing and failure to embrace the Hi-def age however the show itself was a landmark being cited for breaking many genre moulds include as the show which was not afraid to create story arcs.
  
  As a result the series spawned everything from its own RPG to tie in novels. Now this trilogy was not original released int he UK and it took the publisher Ballentine to bring it to our shores.
  
  So what of the book - well I would warn you there are a lot of assumptions made in the book that not only have you read the other two but also you are very familiar with the TV series - so for a fan like me its not a problem in fact it makes it all the more interesting knowing there are little hints and secrets being quietly slipped out while no one is looking.
  
  The story reads like its part of a bigger tale which is not only carried over the other two books but also events in other media too. But the thing is you are not told this it is assumed - so on one hand you are treated to a story which is not bogged down with back stories and explanations and on the other you have one which would be hard to enter if you didnt know what was going on.
  
  So really I should rate this book lower - but you see I did know what they were hinting at so for me I felt like I was part of the secret which made reading it all the more fun.
  
  The question is should I go back and read the others in the series and find out more about what was hinted at.
• 
  Chuck

  This is the final book in the trilogy about Bester, the Psi Cop from the Babylon 5 TV series. I’ve always been a big fan of the TV show, so I was pleased to discover that books based on the series could be pretty good.
  
  Alfred Bester has become an important figure and leader in the Psi Corps, but changing situations outside the Corps threaten its survival. Bester becomes involved in acts that can be described as war crimes. The Corps is disbanded and Bester is being pursued as a war criminal. He settles down in an Earth city and tries to live his old age without much notice.
  
  Meanwhile, Michael Garibaldi has taken up the manhunt too, determined to get his revenge on Bester at last.
  
  An excellent book that provides a much-needed resolution to the “Whatever happened to Bester and Garibaldi” that the TV show never portrayed.
• 
  Jenn Howlett

  The final book in the Psi-Corps Trilogy, you expect it to be an exciting , action packed thrill ride, much like sections of the second book in the trilogy. You expect a bit of enlightenment into the large-scale telepath war that has been hinted at in the synopsis.
  
  Alas, this book is set some 40ish years after the second book in the Psi-Corps Trilogy, the Telepath War has happened already and Alfred Bester is now hunted as a War Criminal. There is scant details of the Telepath War aside a few references to the heinous acts committed by Bester. This is itself is a bit of a middle finger to the reader who was expected some of the gapping holes left by the series to be filled in.
  
  Sadly, it gets worse. Considering that Bester is on the run you then expect a long standing game of hunt he rogue telepaths or Teeps vs Blips. Again, as hinted at in the first two books in the trilogy. For the vast majority of the book we don’t really get that. Don’t get me wrong, there are hints of it spread throughout the book. We’re shown the levels of deception that Bester has implanted throughout the newly formed Earth Alliance and the contacts that he has remaining in order for him to stay one step ahead, but nothing really comes of it.
  
  At this point, Bester is in his 80s and is pretty much done with it all. He wants to go back to Earth on the flimsy reasoning that he can hide better in a crowd rather than base-hopping throughout known space. So, off he pops, very easily through interstellar security and finds a home for himself in Paris and does some very out of character things. Settles down with a normal – which he has proclaimed to hate throughout both series and previous novels – becomes a book critic!
  
  I think the most tragic thing about the conclusion that Final Reckoning offers is the plain and simple fact that it becomes a romantic sub-plot. Bester sure knows how to go through the ladies despite being written as a man who has never really known love – Montoya, Carolyn, Alisha are clearly forgotten at this point. While we, as humans, can fall in love with anyone at any point, there is a rather hefty age gap between Bester and the love interest too, it all just rings a bit hollow somehow. I think for a character that has been presented to us as highly intelligent and able to covertly escape the clutches of the law so many times to go down this route on a whim seems to break all the foundations of his being. Much like the relationship, it all feels hollow.
  
  Louise, the love interest, as a character feels flat and somewhat lack-lustre. Bester is attracted to her sense of life, much like Elizabeth Montoya. Yet, this sense of invigoration doesn’t come across too well in the writing. She comes across as easily-led, dispassionate and lonely. I fail to see why Bester would find her an appealing partner and one that he would throw all sense of fleeting rationality away for.
  
  Also on the scene is Micheal Garibaldi; I was non-to-fond of Garibaldi in the Babylon 5 series, but there was a grudging admiration for his plight. In Final Reckoning he comes across as a selfish, spoilt bully that pushes his weight around to get what he wants. It’s not an attractive read and and any sympathy I could have felt for what Bester had done to him in the series was quickly squandered by his actions and irritating mannerisms. I don’t recall him as being over-zealous in Babylon 5 itself?
  
  The plot is dire. We miss the fun and action of the Telepath War and in it’s place are given a somewhat creepy, predatory romantic sub-plot. The book improves slightly well after the 50% mark, where Garibaldi is gaining grounds on Bester and they come to the inevitable head to head.
  
  There’s also a very bitter-sweet note to the very end of Final Reckoning, but you have to get through a lot of dirge to get to it. Is it worth it? Maybe if you’re a sucker for punishment.
• 
  Rebekah

  I have been looking for this book for a while. I wanted to see how bester’s story played out. I liked the idea of the telepaths sub plot in b5, but it was the B plot for the series and not fully developed before and after. This book series did this. Over 3 novels. Though I need to go back and re-read from the start to see if I missed things. But that also requires a b5 reread to place it in context. Thankfully the series is always good for a rewatch. You pick up so much more on subsequent viewings. I liked having an end to character" koening did so much to develop the character and give it life that it deserved more.
• 
  John Kaess

  This is book 3 of the Psi Corps Trilogy, and unlike books 1 and 2, it takes place after the timeline in Babylon 5. It looks inside the heart of the man who has become the bad guy we saw in Babylon 5, and causes us to hope for his redemption as he stumbles on in his life. It's a sad story and i wrestled with giving it 3 or 4 stars, and decided on 4 even though i didn't enjoy the story, not because of the writing, but because of being frustrated as we see Bester sinking into the hole his life has become. The trilogy is well worth your time, even with the inevitable conclusion.
• 
  Elspeth Artifex

  bittersweet
• 
  Jason

  It was a great ending and I loved the final scenes. Bester, just a bad dude all around.
• 
  Audrey

  I am not sure why, but this book did not overly impress me. It took me a year and a half of picking it up every so often to finally finish it. I liked books 1 and 2 better.
• 
  C.E. Thornton

  This book and the other two in its trilogy are hands down the best story I have ever read.
• 
  Ray Kelley

  When Babylon 5 hit the airwaves back in the 90's, its intricate tapestry of ongoing story threads was revolutionary for its time, and it drew me right in. Story lines dealt with lofty political and philosophical concepts, and big things happened regularly that permanently altered the character dynamics of the show. But even though the show ran for a full five seasons, one particular story line was never really resolved by the time it went off the air.
  
  Set years after the end of the television series, this book tells the story of the last days of telepathic war criminal Alfred Bester (named after the late science fiction author, and played on the show by Walter Koenig of "Star Trek"). Now very old, and still wanted for his crimes, he finds himself in Paris and pursued by pharmaceutical tycoon and former Babylon 5 Security Chief Michael Garibaldi (played surprisingly well in the show by current Libertarian radio talk show host Jerry Doyle). A long time ago, Bester did something to Garibaldi's mind, and though he's had the psychic blocks removed, he can't let go of his grudge or his desire to see Bester brought to justice.
  
  After waiting so long to see how this story arc ended, I must say that I found the resolution offered in this book somewhat anticlimactic. But part of that's on me, since the book has been out since 1999. There are certainly lesser B5 books that I read soon after their publication that I could have skipped in favor of this one.
  
  But there is nice stuff here. We get to see Bester befriend and ultimately fall in love with an innkeeper half his age, and feel his anguish when he realizes that merely being with him puts her in danger. We're given a look at how Garibaldi's obsession with catching Bester puts a strain on his family life as his wife urges him to just let it go. It further humanizes characters that were already more fleshed out than most from 1990's television, and it is welcomed.
  
  But unfortunately, for this book's story to work the wily long-surviving fugitive Bester has to make some inexplicably poor decisions. His coming back to Earth is questionable in itself, but when he takes a job as a literary critic and begins to gain popularity, one begins to wonder what the powerful telepath might be thinking.
  
  Ultimately, Garibaldi is able to flush Bester out by cutting off supply of a proprietary drug his company produces that is essential to all telepaths. As he doggedly chases Bester through Paris (in an obvious homage to Victor Hugo's Les Misérables), there are scenes that I wish I could have seen played out by the original actors. Maybe it's not too late for that, since both actors are now about the same age their characters in this book.
  
  Ultimately though, it doesn't seem like much is really accomplished. Bester is captured, and Garibaldi goes back to his family. If left alone, Bester would have likely spent his remaining few years quietly in Paris, attacking only the books he chose to target in his literary column.
  
  But there's something to be said for that, isn't there? Justice isn't always exciting or even satisfying. Sometimes, it simply must be done so that everyone concerned can move on.
  
• 
  J Rhodes

  Perhaps the weakest of the three Psi Corps novels, Final Reckoning provides a solid conclusion to the tale of Alfred Bester. Set after the conclusion of the Babylon 5 TV series, Final Reckoning details, yes, the fate of Bester. The love-to-hate-him Al Bester was one of Babylon 5's stand-out side characters, and this novel portrays him wonderfully (as Greg Keyes did in the second novel, too.)
  
  After the Telepath War, Al Bester is a war criminal on the run. After narrowly eluding capture by MRA (a rebranded Psi Corps), Bester returns to Earth and builds a life in Paris under a secret identity. Meanwhile, his old nemesis, Michael Garibaldi, yearns to settle the score that Bester began during the series proper. Can Bester outrun his past and all the horrible things he has done?
  
  Ultimately, that's the most interesting part of the novel. Bester is not a good person. However, he's a fascinating character to follow because his perspective is illustrated with startling sympathy. As Bester sums up at one point, he was a soldier fighting a war and he lost, and now everyone thinks that by punishing him they'll fix decades of abuse and acrimony. One of the most perceptive parts of the novel is Bester's criticism that the circumstances that created him - the mistreatment of telepaths, the atrocities committed against them - haven't been fixed, and may never be fixed. Al Bester is, in his own way, a very tragic figure.
  
  It's what makes the novel work. As Bester lives as Claude Kaufman in Paris, there's an aura of foreboding over it all. Can a tiger change its stripes? Even as Bester begins to turn over a new leaf and embrace the humanity he spent so long spurning, he risks sliding back into the ruthless person we love to hate. Keyes really manages to make you root for Bester and to see the terrible things he lapses into as being both inevitable and tragic. And, in the end, when his final reckoning is upon him, some could say Bester gets the last laugh.
  
  All in all, a wonderful tie-in.
  
  (Some reviewers and fans are unhappy that this book skips over the Telepath War that was looming at the end of the series, but it functions perfectly as is, allowing you to glean the shape of the conflict and some of the losses suffered without getting mired down in it.)
• 
  Benjamin Thomas

  I have enjoyed reading everything I've read so far by J. Gregory Keyes but he has remained one of my "B" list authors. His stuff has been enjoyable but not so fantastic that I just can't wait to read his next work. However, after completing Final Reckoning, The Fate of Bester, the third and concluding volume of his Babylon 5 spin-off series, that status might very well change...for the better. Whereas the second book ended with Alfred Bester just about to step foot on the Babylon 5 space station for the first time, this one begins after the television series is complete. It helps to have seen all 5 seasons of the TV show, but is not necessary to enjoy this book (or this trilogy for that matter). The references to the events and characters of the show are suprisingly minimal and I believe uninitiated readers will not feel like they are missing something.
  
  Having said that, readers who are familiar with the TV series will be delighted, as I was, to finally find out what happened to Bester. I knew going in that Garibaldi (the former security chief of Babylon 5) would have to play a major role in whatever was to happen, and indeed he does. But despite that interaction, the novel is really about Bester himself. Bester is a villain, no doubt about it. But as with the best villains of fiction, the reader becomes sympathetic to how he became the way he became. The trilogy as a whole is somewhat like a Shakepearean tragedy in that good people can be caught up in circumstances that lead them down the wrong path. Such is the case with Alfred Bester. This is a book (and trilogy) that examines the truism that "one person's terrorist is another person's freedom fighter."
  
  I'm very glad I took a chance on this TV tie-in trilogy (usually they are pretty horrible). Mr Keyes has moved up to a strong B+ author for me and I'll now seek out his newer works to see if he can bump up to the "A" list.
  
• 
  Tommy /|\

  Alfred Bester, played by Walter Koenig, was one of the best "bad guys" on the TV show. His flat sense of humor showed a darker side to him - a side that we became quite familiar with during his forays onto the station. Yet there was always a sense of tenderness underneath the character, a glimpse of someone whose heart wasn't blackened by the hatred he felt for those who aimed to hurt him. This book explores that side of Mr. Bester. The side that wanted to come out from the dark recesses of his soul, and smile at the simple beauty of life. Mr. Bester is eighty-two at this point in his life, on the run from his nemesis Mr. Garibaldi, and beginning to feel tired at the prospect or repeating his hiding cycles for too much longer. Yes, Mr. Garibaldi is still trying to catch up with Mr. Bester - to visit his endless thirst for vengeance for what Bester had done to him in order to have Sheridan betrayed. The story attacks the plot, initially, from the vantage point of both of these individuals. Towards the end, a police inspector is added to the mix of vantage points - to help play a good old-fashioned morale to the plot. An excellent read and the best of the Babylon 5 novels that I have read to this point.
• 
  Ray

  This book was something of a letdown for me.
  
  On the one hand, as with any good fan fiction, you can actually hear the main characters say their lines while reading. Mr. Keyes does a good job of keeping true to the original TV series.
  
  Otherwise, there is so much that gets skipped over. Despite Besters' frequent appearances on the show, the series wraps without resolving any of his storylines. This book picks up many years later, when not only has the Telepath War everyone dreaded already happened, but many of the major storylines involving Bester have been resolved as well. Instead we find him on the run, a war criminal evading justice, without never knowing the full extent of his crimes or anything about the war itself.
  
  Despite the strength of Besters character, his story ends with a whimper. Not at all what I was expecting.
• 
  Eric

  While the second Psi Corps book got a bit bogged down at the end, cramming in a few too many appearances by B5 characters, this one was a sad, beautiful completion of the story of Alfred Bester. Some of the best stuff that JMS has done is to bring characters through a full arc of sympathy and tragedy, and Keyes and JMS did it again here with Bester. If I had been watching this instead of reading, I'm sure I would've cried. So since I didn't, one star less. Not sure how it could've been done better, but it was quite satisfying. Guess I need to go back and read the first one, just for completeness' sake. For non-B5 fans, no reason to read this. But for B5 fans, if there's any way to get your hands on it, I'd definitely recommend it. Thank you, Half-Priced Books for having it!
• 
  Lynne

  I really enjoyed this book, but as a big B5 fan I found it very frustrating that it skipped so many years between this book and the second one. That this one kept mentioning things that had happened during that time period -- things I was dying to read about -- drove me nuts!
  
  That said, this is a great book for any fan of B5.
  
  I also really enjoyed how the author presented Bester -- completely evil, yet completely understandable. Bester in this book was never a stereotype, never shallow. You understood exactly where he was coming from even as he was doing the most horrible things. Well done on the bad guy, Mr. Keyes!
• 
  Sharon

  Awesome ending to this story. The book starts out 10 years after the end of the Babylon 5 series in 2271. The telepath war is over at this point. The plot centers around Bester and Garibaldi and their epic galactic chase. The ending is superb and very satisfying. Sadly if I say anything else I'll start giving away spoilers. Enjoy!
• 
  Mark Baker

  Finally a real novel as we watch Garibaldi and Bester play cat and mouse in a book set after the series ends. Drama, suspense, and real character development. A great read.
  
  Read my full review at
  Carstairs Considers.
• 
  Daniel Kukwa

  Lots of excellent catharsis to be found in this concluding chapter of the Psi Corps trilogy. Bester's final, mundane fate (rather appropriate, given the use of the label "mundane" by Psi Corps) will almost...ALMOST...make you feel sorry for him.
• 
  Todd

  Babylon 5's Psi-Corps trilogy just got better with each book. It was great to see how seeds planted in the first book as a back story worked themselves out in the ending.
  
  Very satisfying and moving ending, working in those Catholic/Christian themes (this time, forgiveness) often seen in the show.
• 
  Ute

  I would have liked to learn more about the Telepath War, but over all it was a good read. Didn't try to cover as much time as the previous ones and therefore had a real story - if a more solid and predictable one that I might have liked.
• 
  Dp4s

  Political
  -Socialism and the scholar
  
• 
  Kelly

  I enjoyed this book but was a little disappointed that it skipped so many years and the entire telepath war.... It was interesting though.
• 
  Outis

  The plot is just terrible. Does this book even have a point?